Tire.



E. T. GRBENFIELD.

TIRE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 30, 1906 Patented Oct. 27, 1908 i Stute of New York,

EDWlN '.l. GREENFIELD, OF KIAMESHA, NEW YORK.

TIRE

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 27, 190e.

Application filed ocwber so, 1906. senarNo. 341,255.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, llowm T. (inni-initieel), a citizen` of the United States, residing :it Kiameshn, in the county of Sullivan and have invented certain new and useful Improvements in rlires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention concerns tires for the wheels of vehicles and adapted specially for l use on the wheels of self-propelled cars.

i tions projecting beyond the surface The object of the invention is to improve.

the construction of tires for this use with respect particularly to the provision of a nietallic protective casing or armor-ing for a pneumatic or other tire, which will protect the rubber of the tire against abrasion or puncture.

A further object of the invention is tocombine rwith such a protective casing port ereof and serving to prevent slipping or skiddin'g when the roadway is slippery or when the vehicle is rounding a curve.

I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the tire having the anti-skidding means applied thereto, Fig. 2 isan elevation-of a portion of the i same, Fig. 3 is a transverse section, Fi s. 4

i rim securet on the felly, this rim having upand 5 are views similarto that of Fig. 3 i lustrating modifications and Fig.` (i is a top view of a portion of a modified form of tire.

Referrinv to the drawings, the wheel has a and inwardly curved flanges at its edges ada ted to engage flanges formed on the shoe inclosing the inner tube c. Any other form of resilient tire desired may be used instead of the inflatable tire shown, such as a solid rubber or an uniniated tube tire.

wardly The armoring D for the resilient tube contion.

sists of one or more pieces of sheet-metal, preferably steel, bent to a U-shape cross sec- The longitudinal bends in the metal strip to form the U are made4 on curves of shorter radius than the curve of the outer surface of the resilient tube so as to provide spaces between the shoe C and the armor D, into which the shoe may fill when the tire is depressed by an obstacle in the roadway.

When the tube c is inflated the periphery of the shoe C is pressed outwardly as far as is permitted by the armorin and the sides eX- tend down on either si e of the shoe, as shown in iliig.

The arnioring l) consists of one or more pieces of metal rigidly secured together at the ends. Preferably it is formed of four such pieces, and though this may be changed as desired, l consider it desirable to employ a small number of pieces. The pieces are curved longitudinally to an arc-shape in addition to beingcurved transversely to a U- shape section and each of them is of greater length than the area of contact of the armoring with the ground under any conditions. rThe ends of the pieces are rigidly secured together preferably by lapping one over the other and passing in the overlapping portions. This construction is best illustrated in Fig. 2 in which d2 is a bolt havin a thin llat head and a shank passing throu' openings in the two thicknesses of the p ates at the sides of the armors ing and a nut is screwed up on the shank into en agement with the plate to secure the plates rml together. If it is desired to elfect this joint [between the ends of t-he plates without breaking the continuity of the curve of the outer surface of the armoring, Athe underla ping portion of each of the plates may he reduced in size by an amount equal' to the thickness of the plates, as shown in Fig. 1. The armoring thus constructedforms ample protection agaifst injury to the rubber of the'tire; it can b e manufactured at small cost, and the joints between the ends of the plates are of ample strength since with this type of armoring it is unnecessary to provide for a movement of each plate relatively to those adjacent thereto when the tire is depressedV at the'bottom ofthe wheel.

To prevent slipping and skidding I provide on the armoring anti-skidding devices projecting beyond the outer surface thereof; this is preferably done by cutting in the outer face d of the armoring a series of openings of any suitable shape and inserting studsA in these openings whose ends project beyond the outer surface of the portion d.

E indicates a strip of leather or a strong coarse fabric on which are secured a series of studs e referably of metal and spaced apart by a. istance equal to the distance between the several openings of the series shown as cut in the face d of the armoring. This strip with the projections thereon is inserted within the' armoring before the latter is a plied over the shoe C, the studs e are passe partly through the openings'n iii) f' pressed out through the the face d and the armoring is then applied over the shoe C as above described; when the tube c is iniated it will constantly exert a pressure tending to hold the projections e l openings. The studs cannot be pulled through the openings, however, or torn from the tire as they are held securely by the band E.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, I have shown the o enings in the face d of the armoring and tle studs e as of oblong cross-section, but this shape may be varied as for instance, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In Fig. 4 the studs e arev of frusto-conical shape and each has a fiange at its base and the openings in the face d of the armoring are round. These studs e are not se cured upon a strip, such as the strip E, but 'each is forced through its opening in the armoring until the flange e2 thereon engages the underside of the face d of the armorin and in this position they are held by the shoe C.

In Fi 5, the studs are shown as consisting part y of metal and partly of rubber or a sultable composition. The rubber portion e? is of frusto-conical shape and passes through a central opening in an annular metallic member e having a flange thereon adapted to engage the underside of the face d of the armoring similar to the flange e2.

In Fi s. 1 to 5, I have shown the studs as arrange in line centrally of the armoring, but if desired they can be staggered so as to cover a larger portion of the surface of the face Z of. the armoring. Such an arran ement of the studs is shown in Fi 6 in whlch studs are employed of the type i lustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but round studs like those of Figs. 4 and 5 may be employed in a similar manner.

In the form of tire illustrated, the armoring D does not move relativ Jly to the rim and spokes of. the wheel, resiliency being afforded by the movement of the anti-skidding projections radially inward. Such move ment of the projections is cushioned by the inflated tube and as soon as the pressure on the projections is lessened or removed `they are pressed outwardly again to their normal positions as shown in the drawing. Then a vehicle equipped with such tires is on a perfectly level surface the projections are pressed out their full extent but any little nnevenness which. would throw a greater Weight on certain of the projections causes them to be moved inwardly more or less, the maximum increase moving them inward until their ends are flush with the surface of the armoring.

Having describedmy inventigni what l claim as neT and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

In a tire, the combination of a resilient tube, an armoring therefor consisting of sheet-metal of U-shape cross-section ,pan tially inclosing the tube and so formed as to provide spaces between the tube and armoring into which the tube may fill Whenldepressed, said armoringhaving openings in the face thereof, and projections supported on the tube and extending through the openings in the armoring, said projections being rovided with means for reventing them rom passing throu h said) openings, substantially as set fort This s ecication signed and witnessed this 23d ay of October, 1906.

EDWIN T. GREENFIELD.

Witnesses:

S. O. EDMoNDs, D. J. EDMoNDs. 

